(THIS ARTICLE IS MACHINE TRANSLATED by Google from Norwegian)
The Brazz Brothers is a phenomenon in Norwegian music life. Five brass players who have kept it going for almost 25 years. They have traveled around Norway, had a number of tours in Europe since 1991, five tours in Africa, five in Asia and four in North America – and played with thousands of Norwegian corps musicians. Now the girlfriends have written a book about them.
There is something special about Sula, this island in a whiff of the world's oceans, rotten mackerel, seaweed and valve oil – as it says in the book. Inhabited by windswept people who have had three main tasks: "make home-brewed beer, make kids and play horn music". Sole names such as Molvær, Tafjord, Førde and Nymark have made a good mark in Norwegian music life – we can also add Annbjørg Lien and Olga Marie Mikalsen.
In 1969, a pop band called Manjanas was started in Langevåg. Here the twins Jarle and Helge Førde (13 years) played trumpet and trombone, Stein Erik Tafjord (16) played electric bass. After four years of pop and some jazz rock, they wanted to move on, forming a trad jazz band. Electric bass was unheard of, but the tuba seemed more stylish, and Stein Erik had to change instrument. Thus, the Ytre Suløen Jass ensemble was formed (1973), discussed in the previous jazz column.
From the Sul Island to the Brazz Bros
Tafjord already went to Oslo the following year, studied at the College of Music, was employed by the Broadcasting Orchestra 1976-80, and became a highly regarded musician, famous for his playful instrumental mastery. For the Forde brothers, they made their way to Toneheim Folk High School and jazz line in Trondheim, where they graduated in 1980 and joined various local bands. The five-year-younger younger brother, Jan Magne, followed, and from 1982 he was a trumpeter in four Trondheim bands.
On vacations at home in Langevåg in 1981, they had begun to develop a classic brass quintet together. Five-year-old became Stein Erik's four-year younger brother, Runar, who trained as a horn horn in Oslo. With three brothers Førde and two brothers Tafjord, Brazz Brør was born.
In the fall of 1983, they went on their first tours for the National Concerts. In meeting with school students, they developed a playful style, they played without notes, and slipped more and more into jazz. In the autumn of 1984 they toured with a jazz competition and festival debuts at Lillehammer. After a few more years as a brass quintet, they found that a drummer was needed. They hired the best, Egil "Bop" Johansen, in November 1986, and the sixteen Brazz Brothers were established; the month after, they went to the studio and recorded their first LP, Brazzy Landscapes.
The band was an instant success. There was so much to do that the twins Førde joined the Ytre Suløen (1989), Jan Magne and Stein Erik stepped down any other business they were so much in demand for. It should be focused on Brazz Brothers. A few thousand concerts and 16 new albums later I must say they succeed.
One change has been in the band: In December 1998 Egil Johansen died at a gaming job in Sweden. His talented student, Marcus Lewin, took over.
Lovely book
When "boyfriends" are going to write a book about their husbands, we could fear the worst of either nasal admiration or ridiculous rendition. But under Veslemøy Østrem's knowledgeable editorial hand, this has gone absolutely fine. The book, which is simply called The Brazz Brothers (Cantando Musikkforlag 2005), is full of concrete, balanced and detailed accounts of the band's experiences and efforts. It tells about the upbringing at Sula, about the establishment of the band, about the magic of the concert experiences (especially seen from the podium) and about the art of surviving on a high professional level. The chapter "The Interplay Band" mentions the band's willingness to take new paths and connect with unexpected partners: In "The Trollman's Teaching Boys" it is about the fantastic efforts the band has made to teach the band kids to throw the notes and play by ear, and in "It wind band ", each musician is vividly interviewed.
In the book there is a lot of easy-to-write humor, mixed with detailed lists of engagements, records and criticisms. The five winds and seven others in the music community come to the floor in short paragraphs. The artist Arne Nøst has created some glittering portraits, along with a number of beautiful photographs by Ottar André Anderson and a delicate graphic design by Tommy Rasmussen. A wonderful book!
